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Dear <<First Name>>,

Our 12,000+ petition signers at friendsofpsr.com have consistently shown up for Portland Street Response. Without the pressure you have been able to apply, we don’t know if PSR would even have a fighting chance of survival right now. It’s almost been a year since the Oregonian wrote that PSR could be “about to implode.”

Yet here we are - because you signed the petition, wrote to City Hall, expressed your support to local media. and showed up to events such as the recent PSR Town Hall.

Now we need you most.

These next few months will decide if there is a Portland Street Response and whether it will continue being an unarmed 911 response option to assist people in a mental or behavioral health crisis.

That’s because PSR is looking at a potential 80% budget cut, which would almost certainly be the death of PSR.

In a recent KATU report, they laid out the alarming budget mess City Hall finds themselves in after neglecting PSR for over a year. The City has left federal money on the table, therefore the combination of losing federal funding + the millions of dollars Commissioner Gonzalez has proposed in cuts have put PSR on life support.

This is after City Hall cut PSR’s budget last year - the year they had promised PSR would expand 24/7.

This is devastating news. As one downton resident who spoke at the PSR Town Hall said, “I cannot fathom why it’s on the table to do anything but fully fund and grow this program.”

While the situation is dire, there is hope. Our pressure has provided PSR a lifeline as City Hall mulls moving PSR out of the Fire Bureau and into the Community Safety Division -  a move Friends of PSR is hopeful could lead to PSR becoming a co-equal branch of our public safety system.

Mayor Wheeler, Commissioner Rubio, and Commissioner Mapps have all offered tepid verbal support for PSR in the upcoming budget cycle. But we have heard this before and will be judging them on their actions, not their words. And they need to hear from you.

We need you to show up and testify at the upcoming budget listening sessions. This is one of the most impactful actions you can take to save Portland Street Response.

Can we count on you to show up for PSR when they need your support most? Sign up to provide public testimony at one of the 3 upcoming virtual budget listening sessions.

Tell City Hall to keep their promise and fully fund the 24/7 expansion of PSR.

Please continue to follow us across social media and read our newsletters for the latest updates and action alerts.

Thank you,

Friends of PSR

P.S.

We have made some updates over at friendsofpsr.com, including a list of candidates for Portland City Council who have signed the Friends of PSR pledge to fully fund and expand PSR 24/7 as a priority upon taking office. Join us in encouraging candidates to sign the pledge to save PSR, and making sure we elect a City Council committed to strengthening this life saving program.

Also, the PSR town hall we mentioned was put together by the Portland Committee on Community Engaged Policing. PCCEP is an official volunteer government body created as a result of the ongoing settlement agreement between PPB and the U.S. Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice. This settlement is a result of the PPB’s use of force against people with mental illness. You can watch some highlights from the public testimony that was overwhelmingly in support of restoring and expanding PSR online.